Through the Wounds
by Flaming Goddess
Summary: When everything in your life becomes perfect, why does everything feel so wrong? NaruXSaku, with little bits of other pairings scattered throughout. On a six week hiatus as of June 20th
1. Prologue

((Hello everyone! Yay, this be my first fanfiction as an aspiring writer. NOTE: If you don't like NaruXSaku, then you don't have to read, and please don't be rude in commenting, though constructive criticism is encouraged, as well as nice comments... Nice commenting would be wonderful. Also, there is likely to be other little pairings scattered throughout, such as ShikaXTema and SasuXHina. UPDATE: I will be writing "blank's POV"in blod above a line barrier to show the change in character. Yay.

DISCLAIMER: Naruto is not owned by me, and if you think it is, you are as smart as a sack of potatoes...))

The world seemed to stand and wait as the two figures charged at each other, the display of their great strengths refused to allow any straying eyes. It was almost breathtaking the way they fought, a fixated goal in each head. For one, it was to kill, the other to retrieve, but for both, only one could succeed.

**Sakura's POV**

* * *

It was hard to forget the last time Naruto and Sasuke had come face to face. It had been during the last retrieval mission, a failure like all its predecessors. The entire team had been severely injured, and it was weeks before anyone, including Naruto, was able to even get out of bed. They had all trained hard, Naruto especially with his "promise of a lifetime", but from what she could see, it wasn't likely to make any difference on their seemingly indestructible foe, Sasuke Uchiha. A taunting voice mocked her from behind.

"What, your girlfriend too weak to fight?" Sasuke smirked at her, knowing his remark would get a rise out of at least one of them. She tried to ignore him, reasoning with herself A medic ninja had to stay out of the fray, and if Naruto loses control, it would be her who healed him before the Kyuubi's chakra could further damage him.

"DON'T YOU EVER INSULT SAKURA-CHAN!" She was right to ignore Sasuke, as Naruto had obviously taken the bait. His control of the Kyuubi was beginning to slip, and his cyan eyes were developing a reddish-tint…

"NO, NARUTO! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTS!" She yelled in vain. There was no way he could suppress the Kyuubi now. Even though he'd been training all this time to suppress the demon's chakra, in a situation like this, it was nearly impossible. Naruto's cyan eyes finished their twisted transformation, becoming blood red, and a thin layer of the Kyuubi's chakra began to envelop his body. She had to stop him before any more tails formed. Weighing her options, she decided the only way was to distract his attention. Sakura sprinted towards him, all her hope placed on a single half-baked idea.

"PLEASE! LISTEN TO ME!" She wrapped her arms around him, screaming as the red chakra harshly cut into her skin. He lifted an arm to shake her off, but she still held on, until all her strength was gone and he could throw her aside, while slicing a deep cut into her other undamaged arm. She was knocked senseless into a hard rock wall, and blackness slowly clouded her vision. Damn it! Still useless… She slipped out of consciousness…

**Naruto's POV**

* * *

"SAKURA-CHAN!" The sight of her unconscious body was enough to snap him out of his blind rage. What had Sasuke done to her in the few minutes he'd lost control? He glared at his enemy, and saw he hadn't moved an inch, his stupid smirking face was in the exact spot it had been only a few seconds ago. A horrific realization came over him. Had he hurt Sakura-chan _again_ under the Kyuubi's influence? That was the only possibility, so her injuries would be severe, all thanks to him. A sense of urgency filled his thoughts. He had to defeat Sasuke and bring him back for Sakura-chan. He gathered up all his regular chakra, and formed a Rasengan. This would be the last time…

**Sasuke's POV**

* * *

Sasuke stared haughtily at his ex-team mate. How was it possible Naruto could still act like such a loser, even though it had been another year since he'd last tried to bring him back to Konoha? A year spent training, no doubt, and yet he'd learned nothing at all. How pitiful. Yet suddenly, this pitiful ninja was no longer there. How was this possible? He quickly activated his Sharingan, and Naruto was back in his line of vision, but much closer than he expected. It must have been his speed that had made him disappear. Therefore, he had a limited amount of time to defend himself.

"Chidori Nagashi!" A quick burst of chakra filled his body, but was suddenly gone. What the hell? Angered by his sudden disability, he tried again to concentrate his chakra.

Click.

There had to be a reason for this. He deactivated his Sharingan, and tried again.

Click.

Was he really completely out of chakra? Like a lighter without fluid, he was unable to do anything. His legs began to wobble, a sickening display of weakness, and he fell, a strange vision of a cloaked figure laughing at him dredged up by his conscious before he slipped into blackness…

**Naruto's POV**

* * *

Had he really done it? Was Sasuke really defeated, and could he finally drag him back to Konoha? Naruto could only ponder as he stared at his rival's comatose body. What was it about this boy that Sakura loved so… SAKURA! How could he have forgotten that she was just lying there, bleeding from the wounds he'd inflicted? Sprinting back across the huge crater, he knelt down by her unconscious body. There was his beautiful Sakura-chan, bleeding profusely from her many gashes. Scrounging his brain, he tried to remember the little information she'd taught him about healing before they'd left. Concentrate some chakra to the ends of your hands and… there! A feeble aqua aura coated his hand. He held it over the worst wounds, where the bleeding slowly began to stop. Continuing up her torso, he came across one gash right below her chest. Mind out of the gutter… god help him. Jiraiya was starting to rub off on him… Finally, all her wounds stopped bleeding, and his chakra was almost completely gone. Gathering Sakura in his arms, he walked back over to Sasuke, who was still out cold on the ground. A noise from above startled him, and he looked up to see Pakkun, one of Kakashi's ninja dogs, indistinguishably yelling gibberish at him. Finally, he was able to decipher that he should stay where he was and that Kakashi was coming to find him. Thank God he wouldn't have to bring them both back alone…


	2. An Unexpected Change

((Hey everyone! I'm soo sorry that this hasn't been updated in a rather long time, as it has been the result of furtive writing during English class, so hopefully the length makes up for it.))

**Naruto's POV**

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the open hospital window, the bright light bouncing off her skin with an ethereal glow. Naruto looked at the branch of cherry blossoms he held in his hands. Reaching over, he nestled them in her pink hair. Not even flowers could hold a candle to Sakura-chan. Even in her invalid state, she radiated like a thousand stars.

"Geez, Sakura-chan, you're so cool." He always said that. She just never ceased to impress him. Whether it was her crazy strength or some small fact she'd just know, everything about her just made him like her even more.

"Do you remember, Sakura, when we were little, and I saw you for the first time? I was sitting on that swing by The Academy, and you were with Ino, and you smiled at me? It was only for those three seconds that our eyes met, but that's what created this unrequited crush on you. It was your smile, that first display of kindness ever." He smiled. She'd never hear anything he'd said, and never would. What he'd just divulged probably would have resulted in a large punch to the head, anyway. But, that was Sakura-chan for you.

A soft knock on the door brought him from his admiring thoughts. Sasuke sauntered in, looking at their bedridden team mate longer than Naruto thought was necessary.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly. Sasuke's elongated gaze had struck a nerve.

"Is it a crime to come see a hospitalized team mate?" The reply was rife with sarcasm. Sasuke had never cared about Sakura, and there was no way he had just started to now. His suspicion flooded onto his face. Sasuke eyed him, and tried a different approach.

"Tsunade told me to tell you that she wants to see you in her office."

Naruto glanced back at Sakura, her eyes still closed in a seemingly endless slumber. He might as well get this over with. He walked quietly over to the bed, gazed once more at her beautiful face, and made his way out the door and towards the Hokage's Palace.

**Sasuke's POV**

* * *

A slight breeze blew through the room, toying with the pink strands of her hair. It was funny; he'd never really paid much attention to his team mate before this. It probably hadn't helped that she'd been one of those annoying fan girls who had followed him everywhere, always getting in the way of his progress. But, those three years he'd spent with Orochimaru seemed to have matured her, and not just only in her actions. She really was rather fetching, even in her bedridden state. Also, there had been that night when he had left Konoha to train. She'd tried everything to make him stay, begging, and even asking to come with him. It hadn't worked, but she'd left an impression on him that someone would still be there if he came back. This had remained apparent the last two times she and Naruto had gone on retrieval missions, one failed and the other… well, he was here, wasn't he? But, it seemed like he was no longer the only object of this girl's affections. She'd seemed so much more interested in Naruto, abandoning her old and ever-present "SASUKE-KUN!" It was slightly unsettling to see how things had changed in only a matter of three years. He sat down on a chair by the bed previously occupied by Naruto and laid back, the warm air inducing sleep at an alarming rate. He slipped quietly out of consciousness; a red eye etched with Sharingan markings the last thing he saw before finally dozing off.

**Sakura's POV**

* * *

The bright light burned as she opened her eyes groggily…Where was she? Trying to slowly turn her head away from the light, it cracked. She gasped at the slight pain. She waited a few minutes, and then tried again with some success. Dizzy sensations filled wafted over her, but in her vertigo she could just make out the shape of an IV connected to her arm. She was in the hospital. This was slightly ironic: a medic-nin who should be tending to patients was a patient instead. How long had she been here? As the sickening dizziness began to fade, she tried, in vain, to sit up from her reclining position, but the white sheets restricted her into the bed. Tsunade must have taken precautions, as it seemed no one in Team Seven liked to stay in their beds. While she was pulling listlessly at the sheets, a dark shadow in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Wild methods of defense rushed through her mind (all completely impossible), until a more rational thought called off her resistance. It was probably just Naruto. Knowing him, he probably had never left her side after somehow bringing her back. He could tell her how long she'd been out. But, before she could rouse the sleeping figure, her eyes lost some of their black spots and she could clearly see Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto had finally managed to bring him back? Where was he? She could have sworn that it would be Naruto waiting by her side, not the cold heart breaker who had tried to kill not a few days (weeks?) earlier. It was slightly disconcerting…

She continued to gaze at the motionless figure. This was Sasuke—Sasuke-kun! Her eternal love, her object of idolization (and stalking). He was her protector, and she was his true love. She almost couldn't help mocking her twelve-year-old self, the girl who would follow a boy that despised her while pushing aside another who truly cared about her. What was so special about this boy anyway? She had to admit he was extremely handsome, and even that was an understatement. Three years of training with the Snake-Sannin had only added to his appearance. But had the crush been completely physical? That was possible. So, who truly was Sasuke Uchiha anyway? A heartless avenger intent on killing his brother? Either way, she was going to find out.

**Sasuke's POV**

* * *

He awoke to a pair of intently starring eyes, each a perfect shade of aqua. He'd forgotten how keen her eyes were. Her cheeks immediately flushed pink when he returned her gaze.

"What are you looking at? he demanded. She quickly averted her eyes.

"N-n-nothing, Sasuke." She was still cowed by him. That was slightly pathetic. Some things really didn't change.

"So, umm… what are you doing here?" She was staring at him again.

"Just waiting for you to wake up. You've bee out for about a week." Her face became completely astonished.

"Umm… not trying to be rude, but where's Naruto?" Her awkward question caused an odd flare of jealousy. What the hell? _Don't tell her._ Another strange thought entered his head.

"He hasn't really been here for a while. Training and stuff, I guess."

"…Oh. That's good. He probably would have practically assaulted me the moment I woke up." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She liked the dobe, how humorous. The blonde's endless pestering seemed to have finally paid off, and she'd given up her unrequited crush on him.

"Why did you leave?"

Her tone was guarded, a hidden sadness in its undertones. The unexpected question.

"You should know better than me. I'd bet someone came up with a good reason for me to leave," he replied sarcastically. There had to be dozens of rumors circulating about why he'd left, a true "scandal".

"Sure, there are many plausible stories, but I want you to tell me yourself."

"What do you want me to say? I left so I could be strong enough to kill my brother, as you can remember how well it worked last time I tried." He obviously had no recollections of when he was in a coma, how could he? But Sakura, he could bet she'd never left his bedside when he was out.

She grimaced slightly and looked away. "That's not what I meant. Did you really want to leave everything behind?" He might as well tell her the truth, even though it was rather obvious.

"My brother told me something last time that really made me understand what I had to do. He said that I must break all bonds to anyone I cared about, and that was how I could kill him."

**Sakura's POV**

* * *

He had said all of these things to her before, on that day when he'd almost killed the new Team Kakashi, but she had only slightly understood what this boy had gone through. His brother had killed his entire clan, and left him completely alone to live in hell.

A tear welled up in her eye as she mentally put her childhood in perspective. What was the worst thing that had happened to her? She'd been mocked about her forehead. And Naruto, he became the vessel of a demon and was hated by the village for something he had no part in! This caused more tears to rain down, until she felt something touch her face. She looked through her blurry eyes, to see Sasuke wiping her tears away. Fantastic. Now he was reassured that she was still the blubbery, useless member of Team Seven.

"It wasn't as bad as you think it was, especially now that I've—" The creak of the door caused him to stop. She looked up, and for a second her gaze connected with a pair of cerulean eyes. Then, they were gone, so quickly she was sure she had imagined them…

**Naruto's POV- A Few Minutes Earlier**

* * *

Quickly dodging the empty sake bottle that veered only centimeters away from his head, Naruto ran from Tsunade's office, her death threats falling on deaf ears. Thank God Konohamaru had given him back his skin-colored earplugs before he'd left for the last retrieval mission. Almost tripping down the many stairs leading from the Hokage's Office, he all but flew back to the hospital. He had to get back, after all who could knew what Sasuke might have done to Sakura-chan while he was away?

Rushing past the hosptal attendants, he finally made his way to Sakura-chan's room. Peering through the small window on the door, he could see Sasuke stroking Sakura's face. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT TEME DOING?! In his anger, his knee bumped the door, causing it to creak loudly. SHIT! A pair of aqua eyes looked directly at him before he ducked down. Sakura was awake! His first thought was to storm in there and beat Sasuke within an inch of his life. But, rationality (and ever-growing sadness) won him over as he reasoned that had Sakura felt alarmed, she would've punched Sasuke on the spot. With that, he realized that Sakura still liked Sasuke, and he should've known something like this would happen. After all, Sakura's much too pretty not to have every guy love her. Miserably making hand signs, he quickly disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the pieces of his shattered heart.

((A/N: I know it seems like this is all SasuSaku, but I promise, it most definately is not. I hate the pairing as much as all of you do. Just wait, it'll all turn out... if you review- just kidding. But, please review. Lots of Lurve- Ember))


	3. The Same As Ever

((Once again, I apologize for the extremely long amount of time I have not updated this story. I could give reasons (exams, tests, sister's graduation, etc.) but no one really cares. So, here the newest chapter is, in it's glory... kind of. Stories don't have glory, they're sometimes gory, but... never mind. Bad Ember, no rambling! Anyways, now for something completely different... Due to the fact that the symbol barriers were getting cornfusing (yes, an awesome word used by my Biology Teacher), I'm just going to use a line barrier headed by "blank's POV" in bold. Yay. Please review, and I promise, as it is summer for me, there will be an update (possibly) at least once a week, as I have to finish this before I go to camp. Lots of lurve, Ember.

Oh, and a DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Naruto series, and if I did, there would be... lots of NaruSaku.)

**Naruto's POV**

* * *

The Sun began to set as he sat on the Hokage monument. Brilliant streaks of gold and pink danced in the sky. Gold and pink was only possible in the heavens now, not here. God, he couldn't even go to the Ichiraki anymore in fear of seeing her on a "not-date" with Sasuke. Why did it bother him so much? He just wanted her to be happy. But, was she really happy with the raven-haired avenger of Konoha? He didn't really think so.

Ebullient laughter shook him from his self-pitying thoughts.

"Naruto, we know you're up there!" The voice of the one person that he was trying to banish from his thoughts called to him. Sakura's clear, beautiful voice bubbled up the side of the monument. We? She was with Sasuke, of course. Could this day get any worse? He peered over the Yondaime's giant, rocky head. Yep. There was Sasuke, holding Sakura's pale, soft hand.

"Eh, what do you want?" he called down, trying to keep his annoyance at Sasuke from creeping into his voice.

"Kakashi wants us to do some training as team, and we can't do it without you!" Of course, team building. Fantastic.

"You two go ahead. I already trained a bunch today." Of course, that was a flat out lie. All he'd done today was down five bowls of instant ramen and sit up here. And she knew it.

"Come on, please get down. For me?" She looked up at him, her beautiful aqua eyes pleading, her bottom lip puckered out. He could never resist her puppy dog face.

"Ugh, fine." He stood up, his knees cracking from sitting too long.

"Hurry up, baka! Kakashi-sensei promised he'd be on time!" Sasuke yelled. Ha, yeah right. The day Kakashi-sensei was on time would be the day Sakura would kiss him. Albeit impossible. Whatever. Might as well get going. He began down the long flight of stairs, each one descending him closer to his own personal hell.

**Sakura's POV  
**

* * *

She jokingly tapped her foot on the ground as she and Sasuke waited for Naruto to finally stop sulking and come train. He'd been doing this all week. Every time Kakashi wanted them to train as a team, they'd have to drag him along. What was up with him lately?

"I'm here. Now, can we go?" Naruto had finally made it to the small clearing by the monument. It had taken him long enough.

"Ah, so the baka himself, Naruto Uzumaki, has decided to finally join us." Sasuke's sarcastic voice whispered in her ear, and she giggled. Served Naruto right for not seeing her the entire time she was in the hospital. Whereas, Sasuke had come to see her everyday, each time bringing a branch of cherry blossoms for the vase on her bedside table. Most of the flowers were dead now, but she'd pressed one of the flowers from the branch she'd found in her hair the day she'd woken up as a momento.

"Can we just go? After all, we don't want to make Kakashi-sensei waiting." Naruto said as he glared at Sasuke. Wasn't this how it used to be?

But, was it really better this way?

**Sasuke's POV**

* * *

"It's so nice to be training as a team, don't you think, Sakura?" Sasuke grinned at her. They were walking back to Konoha for training, a dejected Naruto in tow. Ever since he'd realized that he could bring Naruto down by taking away the one thing that really mattered to him: Sakura. Of course, he'd been met by suspicion on her part, but Naruto had helped his plan along by avoiding her when she'd needed him most. Poor kid, he'd never stood a chance.

The buildings of the village began to rise up from the trees, as they got closer to Konoha. It was odd coming back here everyday, the place he'd turned his back on those five years ago. It seemed to have gotten smaller, or maybe he was just bigger and older now. That came with age, didn't it?

They continued to walk through the village, until they finally reached the training grounds. This was where the bell test had been. There was the mysterious grave Kakashi-sensei always went to. And, of course, the gray-haired Copy Ninja was nowhere to be seen. Oh well.

"Why don't we just spar while we're waiting?" he asked. Naruto just glared, almost barring his teeth.

"How about I just regulate you guys. One of you might get hurt, and there's no use with me being injured and unable to heal." Sakura looked apprehensively from Naruto back at him.

"Alright." He and Naruto answered at the same time.

"Ready, one, two, three… fight!" They both jumped back, landing on the ground in fighting positions. He charged, Chidori beginning to form in his hand, his opponent forming a Rasengan. So this is how it would be. The same as ever.

**Sakura's POV**

* * *

It was insane how they flew at each other, almost identical to, well… any other time they'd ever fought. They were extremely competitive brothers, and would try to be better than the other. But some things were changing. They weren't playing games, and a need to surpass each other was taking over.

Though they were dodging each other easily, both were starting to run low on chakra. Well, regular chakra, that is. Naruto still had the demonic chakra sealed up inside, and Sasuke… she doubted that Cursed Seal had ever gone away. And yet they still fought ferociously, unwilling to give in. This couldn't be going anywhere good. Kakashi had better hurry, or... she didn't even want to think about it.

**Naruto's POV**

* * *

Neither of them were going to back down… this was becoming a pattern, wasn't it? No… no way he wasn't going to let that teme win. Sasuke had already taken Sakura away from him, and he wasn't about to let him win something else.

"See, even now she doesn't want you. She always wanted me, and not you." A taunting voice whispered in his ear. He whirled around to come face to face with a smirking Sasuke.

"No, just stop!" He lunged blindly, and anger bubbled up. He couldn't lose control, not again. But, why did he have to bring that up? Why did he expose everything horrible about him? Especially in front of her! But, it was getting harder… and harder…

Red started to flood into his eyes. No, stay calm!

His whirling Rasengan began to sputter out.

"What, the fox is depressed he didn't get his love?" Okay, that's it. He let the rage consume him, and that red cloak surround him. He could only hope that this wouldn't go too far…

_There was Sasuke, Chidori activated in front of him. Come on, hit me with your best shot!_

_He lunged out his tail, catching Sasuke's wrist. His face contorted into a malicious grin as Sasuke's face scrunched up in pain. Well, look who's the tough guy now. He continued to thrash him around, taking pleasure in his rival's pain. Serves you right for all you've done to me!_

"_Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura's urgent voice called out to him. Like she cared. If she actually cared, she wouldn't be going out with Sasuke._

"_Naruto! STOP! Please!" She was crying now, but he didn't take any notice. He just wanted to take out his pain. Anyway, every word she said was just a painful distraction. _

_A blinding flash of green distracted him from his rage for a few seconds. In his slightly feral mind, he could only wonder what it was. His anger began seeping slowly from his body, the demon cloak receded back into him. What was going on…? Everything slowly faded into black…_

**Sakura's POV**

* * *

"Naruto! What are you doing?" she screamed, as he grabbed Sasuke. God damn it! Why was this happening? He only gave her a malicious glare. Kakashi, get your perverted ass over here! She refused to let this situation any worse.

"Naruto! STOP! Please!" She began to cry. This was getting much to far out of hand. She had to take this into her own hands… But how? Not like last time, as the scars on her arm gave her enough reason not to. Wait… hands. That's it!

She ran as fast as she could, close enough to touch him. This had to work. Bringing her hands together, she created an immense healing light. Pushing them on his burning red chakra, she tried to ignore the pain flaring everywhere. He slumped into her arms as an odd hissing sound erupted as the chakra slowly began to seep back into his body. It was working! Thank God!

Sasuke dropped to the ground as the tail dematerialized, clutching his burnt wrist. Ugh, she'd have to help him later, as that burn was nowhere near the injuries Naruto had sustained.

The red chakra was finally gone, and she could concentrate on the small spots where it had burned away his skin. Why did he have to lose control like this? The seal had to be getting weaker. Speaking of weak, her chakra was waning dangerously low. Finally, he was finished healing.

"Come on, Sasuke. We need to get both of you to the hospital." She picked up the motionless Naruto, and Sasuke followed her to the hospital.

"Sakura, what happened?" Shizune was working the front desk, a rare stint.

"These two," she gestured to Naruto and Sasuke, "got into another ridiculous fight and hurt each other badly. Could you please contact Kakashi as soon as you can?"

"Sasuke, please stay here. A doctor will help you in a few minutes." She made her way to the empty rooms in the back. She laid Naruto on the litter.

"Why do you do this to yourself? It just hurts everyone." She began to cry again. She was crying a lot lately.

"Sakura, why are you crying?"

Naruto was already awake? She peered through her tear-filled eyes. Yes, there he was, looking at her with half-lidded cyan eyes.

"It's just… it's just really hard to see you like this."

"Sakura-chan, do you think it's any easier seeing you crying?"

"I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes. "Better?"

"Just a little bit."

"Well, if you didn't lose control all the time, I wouldn't have to cry."

"It's just, seeing you with that teme… he's not right for you, Sakura."

"So, you have a right to say who is or isn't right for me now? You don't even know about all the times he came to see me in the hospital! You never came to see me once."

"Sakura, that's not-"

A knock at the door interrupted him.

"Sakura, I really need your help. The burn has gotten worse, and-"

"I'm coming, Shizune. Get Tsunade in here. She'll be able to finish him up." As she made her way to Sasuke's hospital room, she couldn't help but wonder what Naruto was going to say. Had he been there when she'd been in the hospital?

((A/N: Once again, I apologize for the SasuSaku blech in this. I keep trying to put little bits and pieces of NaruSaku in here to keep myself alive, but hopefully it isn't horribly affecting you readers. To make up for all of it, there is going to be a oneshot, written by yours truly, that has so much NaruSaku fluff, you could make a pillow out of it, to be released on... FRIDAY TEH 13th! OMG! Just to keep up attention. Thank you so much for making this 600+ views, and review... I'll release the oneshot earlier if there are 15 reviews by the 12th. Lots of lurve (again), Ember.))


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